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Feb. 3, 2021
Israeli actress Haya Harareet, who became a star around the world in 1959 after portraying Esther, the hero’s love interest in the blockbuster masterpiece “Ben-Hur,” died Wednesday at her home in Buckinghamshire, England. She was 89.
Harareet was one of the first Israeli actors to break into Hollywood, but she couldn’t sustain her success and retired in the ‘60s. Her niece Tamar Tessler, who lives in Israel, said Harareet died overnight in her sleep. Her ashes will be scattered in Israel.
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Haya Harareet. Despite her MGM contract she failed to retain her stardom.Credit: Harry Pot